8th Vienna International Conference on Mathematical Modelling

8th Vienna18International
February Conference
- 20, 2015. Vienna on Mathematical
University Modelling
of Technology, Vienna,
8th Vienna18International
February Conference
- 20, 2015. Vienna on Mathematical
University Modelling
of Technology, Vienna,
Austria
8th Vienna International Conference on Mathematical
Available online Modelling
at www.sciencedirect.com
February 18 - 20, 2015. Vienna University of Technology, Vienna,
Austria
February
Austria 18 - 20, 2015. Vienna University of Technology, Vienna,
Austria
ScienceDirect
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Northern Environmental Technology, Thule Institute, University of Oulu, Oulu P.O.Box 7300
* CentreUniversity
for Northern Environmental
of Oulu, Finland (Tel: Technology,
+358 294 Thule Institute,
487 607; e-mail:University of Oulu, Oulu P.O.Box 7300
jean-nicolas.louis@oulu.fi)
* Centre for Northern Environmental Technology, Thule Institute, University of Oulu, Oulu P.O.Box 7300
* Centre
** CentreUniversity
for Northern of
for Northern Oulu, Finland
Environmental
Environmental (Tel: +358
Technology, 294 487
Thule 607; e-mail:
Institute, jean-nicolas.louis@oulu.fi)
University of Oulu, Oulu P.O.Box 7300
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+358 294 487 Thule
607;Institute,
e-mail: University of Oulu,
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*** Control 7300 University
forEngineering
Northern Environmental
Laboratory, of Oulu,
Dept. Finland
Technology,
of Process (e-mail:
Thule antonio.calo@oulu.fi)
andInstitute,
EnvironmentalUniversity of Oulu, Oulu
Engineering, P.O.Box
University of
7300 University of Oulu, Finland (e-mail: antonio.calo@oulu.fi)
*** Control Engineering
Oulu,Engineering7300
Oulu P.O.Box Laboratory,
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7300 University Dept.
Oulu, of Process
Finland
of Process and
(e-mail:
Oulu, Finland Environmental
antonio.calo@oulu.fi) Engineering,
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Technology, eva.pongracz@oulu.fi)
Thule Institute, University of Oulu, Oulu P.O.Box
7300 University of Oulu, Finland (e-mail: eva.pongracz@oulu.fi)
7300 University of Oulu, Finland (e-mail: eva.pongracz@oulu.fi)
Abstract: This paper discusses the life-cycle environmental impact of Home Energy Management System
Abstract:
(HEMS), This paperofdiscusses
in terms the life-cycle
their potential benefitsenvironmental
and detrimental impact
impacts.of HomeIt is theEnergy Management
expectation System
that adapting
Abstract: This paper discusses the life-cycle environmental impact of Home Energy Management System
Abstract:
(HEMS),
smart home in
This terms
paper of
automation their
discusses potential
the benefits
life-cycle and detrimental
environmental impacts.
impact of It
Home is the expectation
Energy Management that adapting
System
(HEMS), in terms of their(SHA) would
potential lead and
benefits to reduced
detrimentalelectricity
impacts. usage
It is inthethe householdthat
expectation andadapting
overall
smart
(HEMS),
environmental home in automation
terms of their
advantages. (SHA)
The would
potential
purpose lead
benefitsof to
and
this reduced
detrimental
research electricity
was impacts.
to usage
It
quantify is in
the the
the household
expectation
negative and
that overall
adapting
environmental
smart home automation (SHA) would lead to reduced electricity usage in the household and overall
environmental
smart
impacts home advantages.
automation
of SHAadvantages. The
(SHA)
and balance The purpose
would
thempurpose
with their of
lead this
to research
reduced was
electricity to quantify
usage in the
the negative
household environmental
and overall
environmental ofbenefits. The evaluation
this research was to quantifyof SHA has the been done environmental
negative by conducting
impacts
environmental
aimpacts of
genericofLife SHA and balance
advantages. them
The with
purpose their
of benefits.
this The
research evaluation
was to of SHA
quantify has
the been done
negative by conducting
environmental
SHAcycle assessment
and balance themstudy
with using SimaProThe
their benefits. programme
evaluation andof the
SHA EcoInvent
has been done database. The LCA
by conducting
astudy
generic
impacts ofLife
SHAcycle
concluded and
that assessment
balance
the largest study
with using
themenvironmental SimaPro
their benefits.
impact programme
The
of evaluation
HEMS is andof the
the SHA EcoInvent
use-phasehas been database.
done
electricity The LCA
byconsumption
conducting
a generic Life cycle assessment study using SimaPro programme and the EcoInvent database. The LCA
study
aofgeneric
home concluded
Life that
cycle
automation the largest
assessment environmental
study using impact
SimaPro of HEMS
programme is the
and use-phase
the EcoInvent electricity
database. consumption
The LCA
study concluded that devices.
the largest The paper concludes
environmental impact thatofthe
HEMS energy payback
is the use-phasetime electricity
of home automation
consumption in
of
term home
study of automation
concluded
the that
electricity devices.
the largest
consumption The paper
environmental
of the concludes
devices impact
is thatofthe
negativeHEMS energy
by is
1.6 payback
the
years. use-phase
The time of home
electricity
largest part ofautomation
consumption
this is due in
to
of home automation devices. The paper concludes that the energy payback time of home automation in
term
of
the homeof the electricity
automation consumption
devices. The of
paper the devices
concludes is negative
that the by
energy1.6 years.
payback The largest
time of part
home of this is
automation due to
in
termenergy
of the consumption of smart plugs.
electricity consumption of theTherefore,
devices isthe paper by
negative concludes
1.6 years. thatThein terms
largestofpart home automation,
of this is due to
the
term
we energy
of the consumption
electricity of smart
consumption plugs.
of theTherefore,
devices isthe paper
negative concludes
by 1.6 years. thatThein terms
largest of home
part of automation,
this is due to
the need
energy to consumption
find the balance of between
smart plugs. whatTherefore,
we actually theneed
paperto control
concludes andthatthe inresulting
terms of energy
homeconsumption
automation,
we
thethe
of need
energy to consumption
controlfindsystem.
the balance of between
smart plugs. whatTherefore,
we actually theneed
paperto control
concludes andthatthe inresulting
terms of energy
homeconsumption
automation,
we need to find the balance between what we actually need to control and the resulting energy consumption
of
wethe needcontrol
to findsystem.
the balance between what we actually need to control and the resulting energy consumption
of the control
© 2015, IFAC system.
(International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier
Keywords:
of the control Energy
system. Management System, Environmental Engineering, LifeLtd.Cycles,
All rights reserved.
Smart Power
Keywords:
Applications, Energy Management
Environmental Impact System,
of Environmental Engineering, Life Cycles, Smart Power
Automation.
Keywords: Energy Management System, Environmental Engineering, Life Cycles, Smart Power
Keywords: Energy
Applications, Environmental
Management ImpactSystem,
of Automation.
Environmental Engineering, Life Cycles, Smart Power
Applications, Environmental Impact of Automation.
Applications, Environmental Impact of Automation.
1. INTRODUCTION profile specific to a country. The research showed that the use
1. INTRODUCTION profile
of homespecific
automation to a country.
system could The research showedimpact
have a positive that theon use
the
1. INTRODUCTION profile specific to a country. The research showed that the use
Smart home automation (SHA) refers to the control of home local
1. INTRODUCTION of home
profile peak automation
specific
load to a
demand system
country.
and could
The have
research
reduction a
of positive
showed
energy impact
that on use
the
consumption. the
Smart homeand automation (SHA) refers tosmart
the control of home of home automation system could have a positive impact on the
appliances it is an integral part of
Smart home automation (SHA) refers to the control of home Later grids. It is the local
of home peak load
automation
research demand systemand reduction
could have of
a energy
positive consumption.
impact on the
appliances
Smart homeand itadapting
is an integral
automation (SHA) part oflead
refers tosmart grids. of
thetocontrol Itenergy
is
homethe local peak loadfocused
demand on andthe environmental
reduction of energy impact of home
consumption.
expectation that SHA would reduced
appliances and it is an integral part of smart grids. It is the automation Later
local research
peak load focused
demand
by focused
using hourlyon
and the environmental
reduction of energy impact of
consumption.home
expectation
appliances that itadapting SHA would oflead to reduced is the Later
Itenergy research on the emissions
environmental fromimpact
the electricity
of home
usage in theand
expectation household
that
is anand
adapting
integral
overall
SHA
part
would
smart
environmental grids.
lead to reduced advantages. automation
Later research
energy generated in by using(Louis
focused
Finland hourly
on the et emissions
environmental
al., 2014). fromresearch
The the electricity
impact of home
showed
usage in
expectation the household
that adapting and overall
SHA wouldenvironmental
lead to advantages.
reduced energy automation by using hourly emissions from the electricity
However, the components of the SHA system
usage in the household and overall environmental advantages. that also contribute generated
automation
the home in Finland
by using
automation (Louis
hourly et
could al., 2014).
emissions
have The
from
a positive research
the showed
electricity
environmental
However, thehousehold
components andof the SHA generated in Finland (Louis et al., 2014). The research showed
usage
However,
in the
to life-cycle the impacts.
components The overall
ofpurpose
the SHA ofsystem
environmental
system
alsoadvantages.
this research contribute
was to impact
also contribute that the by
generated home automation
indecreasing
Finland (Louis
the could have
et al.,
peak 2014).
load aand
positive
The environmental
research
shifting partshowed
of the
to life-cycle
However, the impacts.
components The ofpurpose
the SHA of this
system research
also was
contribute to that the home automation could have a positive environmental
quantify
to the impacts
life-cycle impacts. andThebalance
purpose withof benefits. The evaluation
this research was to energy impact by decreasing
that the consumption
home automation thecould
peak loadtoaand
have shifting
positive part of the
environmental
quantify
to the
life-cycle impacts
impacts. andThebalance
purpose withof benefits.
thisCycle was to impact
TheAssessment
research evaluation by decreasing the peak load and shifting part ofbeen
from daytime nighttime. It has the
has been done by conducting a generic Life
quantify the impacts and balance with benefits. The evaluation found energy
impact consumption
by decreasing from
the daytime
peak load to nighttime.
and shifting It has
part ofbeen
the
has been
quantify done
the by
impacts conducting
and a
balance generic
with Life Cycle
benefits. The Assessment
evaluation energythat on a 1-yearfrom
consumption modelling,
daytime a 4-persons
to nighttime. houseIt emits 543
has been
(LCA) methodology.
has been done by conducting a generic Life Cycle Assessment kgCO found
energy that on a
consumption 1-year modelling,
from daytime a 4-persons
to
/y and the home automation reduced the emissions to nighttime.house It emits
has 543
been
(LCA)
has been done by conducting a generic Life Cycle Assessment found
methodology. kgCO
2that on a 1-year modelling, a 4-persons house emits 543
/y and
(LCA) methodology.
(LCA) methodology.
found
473 that
kgCO
kgCO2/y and
2
on
2
/y,athe homemodelling,
1-year
therefore
the
automation
a 70 kgCO
home automation
reduced
/y takenthe
a 4-persons
reduced
2
emissions
house
away
the
emits
from 543
emissions
to
the
to
2. PREVIOUS RESEARCH 473
kgCO kgCO
basickgCO /y and
2profile.
/y, therefore
the home a 70
automationkgCO /y
reducedtaken away
the from
emissions the
to
2. PREVIOUS RESEARCH 473 2
/y, In order to
therefore a 70fully implement
kgCO 2
/y takena away Homefrom Energy
the
2. PREVIOUS RESEARCH basic
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kgCO 2 /y, In order
therefore to
a fully
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away Energy
from the
Environmental impact 2. PREVIOUS assessment of technology has been Management
RESEARCH basic profile.
Management
basic
2 System
In order
profile. System
In order
(HEMS),
to fullymultiple
(HEMS),
to fully
implement
2
multiple
implement
sensors
sensors
are necessary
a Home Energy
are necessary
a Home Energy
Environmental
recurrent and impact
fully used assessment
for the EuP of technology
Directive. has
Quantifyingbeen for recording
Management climatic
System data,
(HEMS), or the energy
multiple consumption
sensors are within
necessary
Environmental impact assessment of technology has been for recording
Management climatic
System data,
(HEMS), or the energy
multiple consumption
sensors are within
necessary
recurrent
Environmental and
the environmental fully
impact used for the
assessment EuP of Directive.
technology Quantifying
has been
on-going for the house precisely enough to know where
recording climatic data, or the energy consumption within are the energy leaks
recurrent and fully impact used for of the
theEuP smart grid is an
Directive. Quantifying the
for house
recording precisely
climatic enough
data, to
orknow
the where
energy are the
consumptionenergy leaks
within
the environmental
recurrent
discussion and fully impact
(Hledik, impactused of
for
2009) asofwell the
the smart
EuP grid
Directive. is an on-going
Quantifying
metering the and accurately assess the potential for
house precisely enough to know where are the energy leaks energy reduction and
the environmental theassmart
the rolegridof issmart
an on-going and
the accurately
house precisely assess the
enough potential
to know for
where energy
are reduction
the energy and
leaks
discussion
the (Hledik,
environmental
in carbon (Hledik, management 2009)
impact asofwell
the as the
smart role
gridof smart
is an metering
on-going has and decrease in emission levels.
accurately assess the potential for energy reduction and
discussion 2009) (Darby,
as well as2013).
the role Prior
of smartresearch
metering decrease
and in
accurately emission
assess levels.
the potential for energy reduction and
in carbon (Hledik,
discussion
developed management
a simulation2009) (Darby,
as
toolwellforas2013).
the role
modellingPrior
of smartresearch
meteringhas decrease in emission levels.
in carbon management (Darby, 2013). Priorthe electricity
research has decrease in emission levels.
developed
in a within
carbon management
consumption simulation toolhouses
(Darby,
detached for 2013).
modellingPriorthe
in Finland electricity
research
(Louis, has
2012; 3. METHODOLOGY
developed a simulation tool for modelling the electricity 3. METHODOLOGY
consumption
developed
Louis et al., withina within
simulationdetached
2013).detached tool
It creates houses
for in Finland
modelling
synthetic hourly (Louis,
the 2012;
electricity
electricity 3. METHODOLOGY
consumption houses in Finland (Louis, 2012; LCA is a method used to analyse the environmental impacts
3. METHODOLOGY
Louis et al., comprising
consumption
consumption 2013).detached
within It 21creates
housessynthetic
appliances inand hourly
Finland
based electricity
(Louis,
on the 2012; LCA is a method used
usage to analyse theAenvironmental impacts
Louis et al., 2013). It creates synthetic hourly electricity of a product
is a method used toitsanalyse
throughout lifetime. life cycle starts from
consumption
Louis et al., comprising2013). It 21 appliances
creates syntheticand based the usage LCA
hourlyonelectricity of
LCA a product
is a methodthroughout
used toits lifetime.
analyse
the environmental
the A life cycle
environmental
impacts
starts from
impacts
consumption comprising 21 appliances and based on the usage obtaining materials from the nature, continues with processing
consumption
* The Thule comprising Institute Doctoral21 appliances
Programme and based on the usage of
is acknowledged of
a product throughout its lifetime. A life cycle starts from
obtaining
a product materials
throughoutfrom the
its nature,
lifetime. continues
A life with
cycle processing
starts from
*forThe Thule this
financing Institute Doctoral Programme is acknowledged and
research. and
transporting
obtaining materials
transporting
obtaining materials
the from
the
material,
material,
from the
manufacturing,
the nature, continuesdelivering,
manufacturing,
nature, continues delivering,
with
using,
with processing
using,
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* The Thule Institute Doctoral Programme is acknowledged and transporting the material, manufacturing, delivering, using,
*forThe
financing
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Institute Doctoral Programme is acknowledged and transporting the material, manufacturing, delivering, using,
for financing this research.
for financing
Copyright © this
2015, research.
IFAC
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Copyright
Peer review© 2015,responsibility
IFAC 880Control.
Copyright ©under
2015, IFAC of International Federation of Automatic
880
Copyright © 2015, IFAC
10.1016/j.ifacol.2015.05.158 880
 MATHMOD 2015
February 18 - 20, 2015. Vienna, Austria Jean-Nicolas Louis et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 48-1 (2015) 880–885 881
Communication Management
devices Devices
Internet Access
Router Hard-Disk Drive In-home Display
Equipment
Fig. 1. System boundaries of the house studied
reusing, repairing and recycling the product, and ends when the
product is discarded. LCA is one of the techniques developed
to better understand and address the environmental impacts
followed from these steps. The purpose of this generic LCA
was to assess the environmental load of an energy management
system in a dwelling. For this matter, we have considered
different elements to be present in the house. For modelling
purposes, it is possible to take away elements of the system
and therefore make it more flexible to model. The system has
been built according to the ISO 16484-2 (CEN, 2004) and a
previous study on the evaluation of the environmental impact
of three types of home energy management systems (van Dam
et al., 2013). It has been decided that the system will be split up
into five main segments as represented in Fig. 1.
The first segment, the smart meter, is common to all type of
houses. In case of carrying out the LCA assessment for using
such technology, it could be assumed that the smart meter
should not be included in the scope of this study because
most of the buildings are equipped with it. Therefore, when
comparing the added value of home energy management
system, the smart meter element could be left out from the
scope. Nevertheless, for the purpose of this study, it has been
included.
The smart meter element has been selected from Elster
Company (Elster REX2, (IFIXIT, 2014)). It includes multiple
elements such as the casing, the display, the electronics and
the communication devices. The smart meter is collecting
information within the house. It can be done at the appliance level
in case smart plugs are installed. Each appliance need a smart
plug to record and transmit the information to the smart meter.
Having smart plugs is optional and, therefore, the electricity
consumption is recorded at the end-point. Smart plugs are
part of another segment that compose the energy management
system that is the field device segment. The field devices
group all the electronic equipment and/or communication
equipment that allow the recording and control of appliances.
Field devices are connected to the smart meter and to the
management devices. Field devices also include technology
such as an external temperature sensor. The management
devices, the third segment in the energy management system,
include the in-home display, the hard drive for storing the
information, and the computing power for processing the
data. Two main streams for retrieving energy consumption in
houses are used: web based, or with in-home display. In-home
display is optional in a way that another existing display can
Home Energy
Management
System
Computing
Field Devices Smart Meter
Devices
Temperature Communication
Smart Plugs Display Electronics
Sensor device
be used for retrieving the information regarding the energy
consumption. When a web-based system is used, it can be
assumed that it is using an existing computer that the users
are already using for another purpose. Once information are
gathered, they should be processed for integrating the home
automation to the network. For this matter, a computing device
should be available all the time. It is possible to use an existing
computer but it should be noted that it will be active 24/24.
Finally, a communication device is required for transmitting
the data internally (to the plugs or appliances), and externally
(to other users or to a centralised aggregator). It is assumed
that it requires an internet connection although other types of
communication system for smart metering device exist such as
the GSM/LTE networks.
The inventory is using the EcoInvent 3.01 database and
therefore, the related assumption to its database are included.
Assumptions are made and are highlighted in each section.
3.1 Smart meter
The smart meter is considered to be a permanent part in this
system. We considered an existing smart meter. We were
limited with the amount of information available, especially
in terms of elements present and their quantities. In brief, we
assumed that a smart meter is made of plastic for the casing,
screws, a printed circuit, a communication device, and a
small display. The section below details the quantities and
specification for each element within the smart meter.
1) Display
As no knowledge about the precise specifications of each
element that are embedded in the system, some assumptions
have been made. The display material is an existing material
in the EcoInvent database. Nevertheless, only the 17 inches
version is available. Therefore, to approximately match the
size of the display on the smart meter, the quantity of display
has been divided by 17 in order to have an equivalent display
of 1 inch. No processes have been included. Nevertheless,
a general process for transporting the smart meter from the
retailer place to the house could be included but is considered
out of the scope.
2) Electronics
As mentioned earlier, the smart meter is a piece of electronic
equipment that records a digital signal to send forward to a
central unit (external or internal). The considered smart meter
881
MATHMOD 2015
February 18 - 20, 2015. Vienna, Austria Jean-Nicolas Louis et al. / IFAC-PapersOnLine 48-1 (2015) 880–885
882

include the printed circuit accompanied by some copper and
aluminium plates. There are also a couple of small electric
wires. The quantity of copper is calculated using the following
equation:
(1)
Mcopper = Vcopper × δcopper
Where Mcopper is the mass of copper used [g], Vcopper is the
estimated volume of copper [cm3], and įcopper is the density of
copper 8.95 g/cm3.
The amount of cable has to be given in terms of weight. It is
assumed that an electric wire weight 2.5 g, thus both wires
weight 5 g. A default value of 75 cm2 is assumed to be the
surface area of the printed circuit installed in the smart meter.
3.2 Communication devices
The communication device can be made separately from
the smart meter. In this case, it is considered that the
communication within the building and towards the outside
require extra equipment. Therefore, it has been chosen
that an internet access equipment and a router compose the
communication device. Both devices are already existing in
the EcoInvent database. Although it might be removed later on
to be added in the MatLab simulation, the operation process
grant a fulltime internet access resulting in a 4.2 W at 1 Mb/s
internet rate exchange.
integrated into the system.
2) Smart Plugs
Smart plugs can read the electricity consumption of an
appliance. Multiple manufacturers are offering technical
solutions (Vuppala and S, 2013) but the principle is similar to
all: a plug-in-a-plug system is inserted into the socket and read
the current passing through. The information is then forwarded
directly to a processor where the information can be analysed
and further retrieved to the end-user through its in-home
display. The processor can be internally or externally done.
In this study, we considered that information are processed
internally. Similarly to the temperature sensor, the smart plug
is assumed to have specific weight. Three major components
are assumed to be present in a smart plug: the pins, the casing,
and the electronics inside the smart plugs (including the
communication device). The pins are usually made of brass.
The mass of brass included in the smart plug is calculated
using the same approach than in (1). The volume of a pin is
calculated using standard value (SFS, 2004) of a 5 A plug.
Using a standard value for the density of brass of 8.5 g/cm3,
it gives us a total mass for 1 pin of 2.55g. The plastic casing
surrounding the smart plug is considered to have a standard
weight of 100g and made of PVC. The remaining parts of the
plug are assumed to be made of a diode that changes colour
depending on the state or message the plug want to transmit to
the user, a radio chip that communicates the information to the
central station, and the printed circuit for read and/or receiving
information related to the electricity consumption.

3.3 Field devices

3.4 Management Devices
Field devices are a set of two types of technology: the
As mentioned earlier, “management devices” is the set of
temperature and humidity sensor and the smart plug. It is
devices that allow for retrieving, receiving, computing and
considered that there are as many smart plugs as appliances in
storing energy information from the entire building. All units
the house in case direct recording of the appliances is carried
considered in this section are already existing devices in the
out in the house. It can also be used in the case appliances
EcoInvent database. They are not considered as having a mass
are controlled remotely. Usually, such technology uses WIFI
and are therefore neglected when assessing the impact of
(IEEE 802.11 protocol) for transmitting information to the
disposal of the entire LCA of the house.
central base and to receive information from the control panel
(the interface by which the user is setting the specificities). The management devices group is primarily made of an in-
1) Temperature Sensor home display. Similarly to the smart meter display, the size
of the display from the database is considered too large (17”).
Any temperature sensor could have been selected. The
Therefore, a standard size of 4” has been arbitrarily selected
environmental wall sensor has been randomly chosen among
for retrieving the information about the energy consumption
a set of technology. The Omega sensor (Omega, 2014) is able
and acting as the interface for inputting user preferences in
to record temperature and the relative humidity of the air. The
the automation system. The management system is further
specification given by the manufacturer are the dimensions,
composed of an external hard drive for storing historical
the quantities of elements present in the sensor and the total
information regarding the energy consumption. Finally, a
weight. The main elements from the sensor is its composition
processing device completes the set of management devices
of plastic, assumed to be polyvinylchloride element with a total
for processing the data (performed for the home automation
weight of 100g. Metal is used to fix the sensor and consists of
part, and eventually to the statistical calculation of the energy
aluminium 2 plates and 6 screws. The volume of a screw is
consumption).
assumed to be 0.1 cm3 and the volume of a plate is assumed
to be 3 cm3. Using similar method as described in (1), using No processes are associated to the installation of the equipment
the density of aluminium of around 2.7 g/cm3, it gives us a in the house (transport from the store to the house, energy
total amount of aluminium of 17.82g. Finally, it is assumed for installing each equipment, etc…). Also, no energy for
that the sensors are included in the printed circuit integrated running the devices has been introduced in the processes as it
in the casing of the sensor. Note that no processes have been is considered to be integrated as part of the simulation. Every

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Table 1. +RPH(QHUJ\0DQDJHPHQW6\VWHPPDWHULDOFRPSRVLWLRQ

Materials/Assemblies Qts Unit

Display
Display, cathode ray tube, 17 inches {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 0.059 p
Electronics
Copper, cathode {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 14.3 g
Cable, unspecified {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 5 g
Printed wiring board, for through-hole mounting, Pb containing surface {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 75 cm2
Communication devices
Internet access equipment {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 1 p
Router, internet {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 1 p
Operation, internet access equipment {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 24 hr
Temperature Sensor
Screw
Aluminium alloy, AlMg3 {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 1.62 g
Polyvinylchloride, bulk polymerised {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 16.2 g
Printed wiring board, for through-hole mounting, Pb containing surface {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 30 cm2
Smart Plug
Brass {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 2.55 g
Polyvinylchloride, bulk polymerised {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 0.1 kg
Printed wiring board, for through-hole mounting, Pb containing surface {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 30 cm2
Inductor, miniature radio frequency chip {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 1 g
Light emitting diode {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 1 g
Management Devices
Display, liquid crystal, 17 inches {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 0.2353 p
Hard disk drive, for laptop computer {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 1 p
Computer, desktop, without screen {GLO}| market for | Alloc Def, S 1 p
Electricity, low voltage {FI}| market for | Alloc Def, S kWh

details of the HEMS components are summarised in Table 1.
4. END-OF-LIFE MANAGEMENT SCENARIOS
In 2003, the European Community implemented the Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive
(2002/96/EC), in order to control the end-of-life (EOL)
management of electronic devices. The Directive defines
general requirements to comply with mandatory collection and
recycling objectives. Currently, the mandatory percentages
stand at 75% recovery rates for IT and telecommunications
equipment and a 65% re-use and recycling rate. Further to
the WEEE Directive, electronic devices cannot be disposed
through regular municipal waste management channels and
cannot be directly landfilled. Consumers shall return their non-
functional devices to designated collection points or retailers,
from where the WEEE is transported to regional treatment
plants. From the treatment plants, functional devices may be
oriented for re-use, while the rest is sorted according to WEEE
categories. As the devices such as those used in HEMS are
not high value in terms of their material content, the most
likely scenario is that they are sent for incineration. There is
a small likelihood that larger devices (e.g. large surface area
displays) are disassembled and valuable parts such as printed
circuit board and hazardous parts such as the LCD screens
are separated and sent for material recovery or treatment.
In case of disassembly, non-recoverable parts might be sent
for landfill disposal. However, since the HEMS Devices are
rather plastic-rich, they are more likely to be incinerated, as
landfilling of plastics is also phased out, further to the Landfill
Directive (Directive 1999/31/EC) and its Waste Acceptance
Criteria. Therefore, we assume that the smart meters, smart
plugs and temperature sensors and other communication
and management devices are 100% incinerated. Due to the
limitation of the LCA programme, the most likely scenario
of EOL management cannot be simulated. Therefore, the
following EOL scenarios are used to best match the real-life
conditions of electronics EOL management in Finland.
4.1 Smart meter disposal
As explained in section 3.1, the smart meter is made off a display,
electronics that support the processing of the information,
and a communication device that allow the reception of

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884

information from outside and from the management devices,
and send information to a third-party and to the management
devices that will further process the information to make them
readable to the end-users. Therefore, it means that each of the
three sub-assemblies will be treated separately in the disposal
scenario and will have their own.
Each of the four main components that makes the smart meter
is disassembled. Therefore, there should be one disposal
scenario for each of the disassembled elements. All of the sub-
assemblies have been assumed to be considered as municipal
waste that will be incinerated.
Transportation has been included in the disassembly phase,
and no transportation has occurred between the disassembly
phase and the disposal phase, meaning that the disposal has
happened at the same place than the disassembly. Note also that
the communication device does not have any impact because
SimPro assumes that it has a 0 mass (taken from the database).
Therefore, it is not included in the disposal scenario.
4.2 Smart plug disposal
Smart plugs are made of three sub-assemblies: pins, plastic,
electronics. Each of them are made of different substances
as reviewed in section 3.3. Similarly to what is explained
previously, each of the sub-assembly will be treated differently
depending on their respective disposal scenario.
Smart plug disposal scenario works in the same way than for
the smart meter scenario. As a starting principle, all waste
generated from the smart plugs go directly to the incineration
scenario established by the EcoInvent database.
4.3 Temperature sensor disposal
Temperature sensor can be easily disassembled. As reviewed
Smart Meter
Smart Meter Management Devices Temperature Sensor
100
13%
21% 22% 21% 22% 22% 20% 21% 22% 19% 21% 22% 21% 19% 20% 22% 21% 21%
80
2%
0%
7%
13% 0%
21%
0% 23% 26%
Emissions Ratio [%]
in section 3.3, the temperature sensor is made of: metal, a
plastic casing, and electronics. The same rule as explained
above apply to the temperature sensor and the respective
disposal scenario of each sub-assemblies.
Finally, the temperature sensor can also be disposed in a similar
way. Each of the three sub-assemblies has got their personal
disposal scenario. Similarly to the two above, category,
transportation is defined in the disassembly phase.
5. SYSTEM PHYSICAL BOUNDARIES
A number of assumptions have been set in order to model
the use-phase of the system. The house considered in the
simulation integrates 25 appliances in which 21 are distinct
in a 4-persons house. There are 21 smart plugs installed in
the house and are constantly in use in order to measure the
electricity consumption from each plug. It is assumed that the
system has an average life expectancy of 5 years. Therefore,
the use-phase considers 5 years of electricity consumption
throughout the life cycle. According to manufacturers’ data, a
smart plug consumes 4 W constantly, which results in a yearly
consumption of 35.06 kWh/y of electricity or 3681.72 kWh
for all smart plugs throughout the life cycle. According to the
manufacturers, a smart meter consume around 20 W in order
to run, transmit data, and display the energy consumption on
the LCD screen, which represents an electrical consumption of
175.32 kWh/y of electricity or 876.6 kWh for the smart meter
throughout the life cycle.
6. LCA RESULTS
The environmental impacts of the HEMS can be split down
in multiple sub-impacts. First of all, 99.4 % of the emissions
occur during the assembly and the use-phase, where the
use-phase represents 84 %. Secondly, 18 environmental
indicators are given in which we can find the climate change
Management Devices Temperature Sensor Smart Plugs
Smart Plugs
25
24
23
22
21
20
3% 19
10% 0%
14% 18
0% 19%
17
0%
35% 16

32% 52%
60 0% 15
0% 37% 40%
0% 43% 48% 14
0%
13
59%
12
0% 0%
11
40 0% 10
0% 76% 75%
72% 0% 0% 9
66% 69%
0% 66% 8
58% 60%
56% 54% 7
46% 46% 6
20 41% 39% 0% 5
35% 35% 32% 4
3
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Fig. 2. Environmental Impact of the HEMS. (a) Relative emissions showing the impact of each components relatively to each other, (b) absolute emissions
illustrating the relevant impact when considering the use-phase (left bar), and without the use phase (right bar).

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 MATHMOD 2015
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indicator expressed in kgCO2eq, the impact on land-use, metal
depletion and so on. The factor having the highest impact is
the marine toxicity where the main components contributing
to it are the smart plugs and the management devices. Human
toxicity is the second largest and the main contributor to it
is the management devices as well. Considering the climate
impact factor, smart plugs have the biggest impacts due to the
quantity of devices in place in the model but also because of
the continuous use of electricity throughout the simulation
period. The climate change impact is equal to 354 kgCO2eq
when electricity is not considered and, therefore, groups all
the other processes’ impacts. When considering the electricity
consumption over a 5-years period, the climate change impact
rises up to 2076 kgCO2eq. Thus, the CO2 emission due to the
electricity consumptions from the HEMS is equal to 1722
kgCO2eq. The temperature sensor clearly plays a minor role in
terms of environmental impacts as it has the smallest quantities
for raw materials. The smart meter has a fairly stable share
on the environmental impact of around 20% for each impact
factors evaluated. The management device is the one that has
the most fluctuation, as it is the main contributor of resource
depletion (59% of the entire system), but plays a minor role in
other impact factor such as water depletion.
7. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The starting argument of this work was that smart home
automation contributes to reducing the energy consumption
of households and also flattens peak consumption profiles.
Based on earlier work (Louis 2014), it was assumed that
home automation can contribute to 12 % reduction of energy
consumption in an average Finnish household. The household
has been modelled including 21 electronic equipment.
Assuming that these equipment are controlled by smart
home automation devices, we need to contrast the savings
with the energy consumption and overall environmental
impacts of these devices. As the LCA study presented in
this paper indicates, the largest environmental impacts of
home automation consists of use-phase energy consumption
of the HEMS. Assuming a 5-years operation time, smart
plugs consume 3681.72 kWh, whilst smart meters consume
876.6 kWh in total. This indicates that the environmental
“investment” in terms of home automation does not pay itself
back. Nevertheless, the smart meter itself can be paid back
within 3.5 months meaning that the remaining months of the
year are beneficial in terms of energy consumption. In terms
of CO2 payback, the smart meter would pay itself back after
the 11th month. Whilst European legislation concentrates
on also on the EOL phase of electronics, the environmental
impact of EOL management is very low compared to other
life-cycle impacts. One of the weak points of the presented
LCA assessment is that it considers a fixed emission factor.
885
In our case, the database considered an emission factor of 265
gCO2/kWh consumed for Finland. In contrast, IEA evaluated
the emission factor to be around 199 gCO2/kWh as an average
value on the period of 2008-2010 (IEA, 2013). Therefore we
made our assumptions of environmental payback time based
on IEA data and available CO2 emissions information that
lower the amount of CO2 saving potential. Still, the full system
does not pay itself back in terms of reduced CO2 emissions.
As the largest part of HEMS electricity consumption is due to
smart plugs, we can conclude that we need to find the balance
between what we actually need to control and the resulting
energy consumption of the control system. Ultimately, the
authors argue that the issue of electricity demand of smart
control devices should be more present in the discussion about
smart home automation.
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